Chapter Fourteen
CHAPTER
As he held the damning evidence in his hands, Caleb’s heart sank.
The truth was staring back at him in the form of the eerie poem and a chillingly haunting photograph.
Vance placed a supportive hand on his shoulder—a gesture of both friendship and professional camaraderie.
The pieces of the puzzle were finally starting to fit together, revealing a sinister picture of what had truly happened to Skye Love all those years ago.
The web had been woven, and he was about to trap the person who’d preyed upon an innocent young girl—the little sister of the only woman he’d ever truly loved with every inch of his heart, and still did.
Turning to Vance, his voice was firm and unwavering.
‘We have what we need. Secure the evidence, and we’ll take William back to the station.
And prepare to find Nate Keller so he can be brought in for questioning as well.
But make sure to keep the two men separate if you come across Nate before me, so they can’t collaborate a false story—if they haven’t done so already.
’ His hands clenched at his sides as he fought to control red rage—it would do him no favours to snap.
‘It’s time to end this nightmare once and for all. ’
‘Gotcha, Caleb.’ Vance nodded, offering a glance that only longtime mates would share, then stepped into action.
After taking in a deep breath to steady himself, Caleb turned and walked out of the room and down the hallway towards William Keller, his eyes burning with a mixture of anger and sorrow.
‘William Keller, it seems you have some explaining to do.’ With William going to retort, he held his hand up.
‘Save it for when you’re under oath. We’ve found a diary of your brother’s along with a photograph that paints a very incriminating picture. ’
William paled, his facade crumbling as he realised the damning nature of the evidence now in plain view. ‘I—I can explain,’ he stammered, but his voice faltered under the weight of guilt and fear.
Caleb’s grip on the evidence tightened as he took a step closer, his voice low and firm. ‘You’ll have plenty of time to explain down at the station.’
Vance guided William Keller to the waiting vehicle with a firm but gentle hand, despite the cold steel of handcuffs that bound the retired schoolteacher.
And as Keller’s form disappeared into the back of the patrol car, Caleb felt as if a chapter had closed on a tale that had gripped the town for far too long.
Now they needed to dig deep, and remain vigilant, as they discovered the ending of the story.
He didn’t want any stuff-ups on the police force’s part, giving the Kellers a way to escape what they’d gone and done.
Regrouping outside the house, he found a private spot and dialled his sister’s number. When she picked up, he could hear the concern in her trembling voice. ‘Caleb, thank god, what’s happening? Is everything okay?’
‘Hope,’ Caleb began, his voice steady despite the tumult within him.
‘Keep it to yourself and Nyah, but we’ve found crucial evidence that links Nate Keller to Skye’s disappearance.
We’re about to track him down for questioning.
I need you to stay safe and keep Nyah close until we have him in custody. ’
Hope’s sharp intake of breath was audible through the phone. ‘Okay, but please be careful.’
‘Always,’ Caleb assured her before ending the call. With a determined expression, he turned and strode over to his fellow officers. ‘Let’s move out. We have a suspect to find.’ The officers nodded in agreement, their resolve matching Caleb’s.
They dispersed, first to Nate’s house. Nobody was there.
Maybe William had warned his brother to get the hell out of town.
Caleb prayed not. Even Nate’s wife wasn’t picking up her phone.
Almost an hour passed, tension mounting with each moment that slipped by without a breakthrough, giving Nate more time to get away.
But just as Caleb felt the grip of frustration tighten around his chest, a sharp voice crackled through his radio.
‘We’ve got a possible sighting of Keller at the old factory down by the river. Requesting backup.’
Caleb’s heart leapt in his chest as he relayed orders to his team, urgency propelling them into action.
Racing towards the abandoned factory, sirens blaring and lights flashing, they found themselves face to face with their suspect for the first time, with two Gunadi officers holding him in place, and Senior Sergeant Boston waiting alongside them.
The stern-faced senior officer approached Caleb and dropped his voice.
‘Given that your father was a good friend and fellow officer of mine for many years, and how you’ve worked tirelessly in uncovering all of this, I’m giving you the satisfaction of reading this son of a bitch his rights, Officer Hart. ’
‘Thank you, sir,’ Caleb replied with the tone of a strong man humbled by another.
‘Nate Keller,’ Caleb started as he approached him, ‘you’re under arrest for the disappearance and possible murder of Skye Love. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.’
Nate’s face of smug denial gave way to a flicker of guilt that danced in his narrowed eyes before he quickly masked it. ‘You have no proof, none of you do,’ he spat out, defiance in his words. ‘You can’t have because I didn’t do anything to her.’
But Caleb was ready. ‘The poem in your diary tells a very different story, Nate. Your words condemn you.’
Nate’s burly shoulders slumped in defeat as realisation dawned on him—the truth had caught up with him at last. ‘You have no idea what that poem means, Hart, but I assure you, I’ll tell you everything you need to know.
’ He fell to his knees, tears rolling down his cheeks.
‘I can’t carry it around anymore. It’ll be a relief to tell the world that she was mine, and I lost her, just like everyone else who loved Skye did that day. ’
***
The hazy beams of late-afternoon sunlight filtered through the windows of Hope’s cottage, painting the lounge room in a soft golden glow.
Tiny dust particles danced in the light, like spectral apparitions swirling above the worn wooden floorboards.
Nyah sat on the shagpile rug, amid a sea of memories, her long dark curls cascading over her shoulders as she leant forward to examine Skye’s personal belongings that had been found tucked away in a box in Nate Keller’s shed.
Sitting closely beside her, Caleb remained her pillar of strength.
Reaching out to touch a faded denim jacket that had once belonged to her little sister, she felt another wave of crushing grief tighten around her heart.
Caleb, with his sandy blond hair catching the afternoon sunlight as he leant in, placed a caring hand on her back.
No more words were needed. They’d spoken enough, too much at times, about it all.
Her father’s racking sobs still echoed in her mind from two days earlier.
Her only comfort was that he had their beautiful Rae there to grieve with him, while Nyah was still in Wildstone, cared for by Caleb and Hope until the case was heard in court.
Right now, sitting on the floor, they were surrounded by remnants of a life abruptly ended.
Everything, no matter how trivial, meant the absolute world. It was all she had left of her sister.
Sniffing, she picked up a worn sketchpad, its spine cracked from use and filled with doodles and musings in the margins of each page.
Tracing her sister’s pen lines with her fingertips, she felt her eyes clouding with more tears as she turned the page to find a pressed wildflower, a fragile reminder of her sister’s love for preserving nature’s fleeting beauty.
‘Do you remember?’ she whispered, more to herself than to Caleb. ‘She used to collect flowers and then take them home to press them in whatever book she could find.’
Caleb’s pained expression softened at the memory. ‘Yeah, I remember.’ He reached out to lightly graze the dried petals. ‘She was definitely a little hippy.’
‘She was.’ Nyah closed the sketchpad and hugged it against her chest. ‘I still find it hard to believe that Nate thought he was her father all this time, just because he and Claire were having sex for years.’ She blinked faster, warding off more tears.
‘The fact that Dad went and got the paternity test when Skye was just a baby, because he suspected something, even though Claire denied having an affair…well, it’s a relief to know Skye really was his.
’ She shook her head, eyes briefly closing against the heartache.
‘Nate is just as sick in the head as his murdering mother, and his bastard brother that covered it all up to keep them from going to jail.’
‘I know, it’s a hard pill to swallow, knowing Nate and your mum…’
‘ Claire , please,’ Nyah said, cutting him off. ‘She may have given birth to me, but in my eyes she’s not my mother. Rae has been much more of a mum to me than Claire ever was.’
‘Sorry, yes, Claire it is from now on. And I totally understand where you’re coming from.
She was never maternal with you. I can see that very clearly looking back at how curt she was with you all the time.
’ Caleb’s tone was ever so soft, yet it contained his unwavering strength, as it had throughout the ordeal.
‘I’m so sorry you’re going through all this, Ny.
Honestly, if I could, I’d take your pain and carry it for you. ’